Combined door spring and check



(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. GILFILLAN..

f GOMBINBD DOOR SPRING AND CHECK. No. 473,456. i Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. GILPILLAN OOMBINED DOOR SPRING AND CHECK.

No. 473-,456. Patented Apr. 26, 189Z.

ms Novum Prrus co.. mo'rwumo., wAsmNumn, m c.

(No Model.)

W. GILFILLAN.

GOMBINBD DOOR SPRING AND CHECK.

Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

Willllllllllrmllllll" H i f 'Mmi 7 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 4. W. GILPILLAN. GOMBINED DOOB SPRING A ND CHECK.

(No Model.) v 7 Sheets-Sheet 5.

W. GILPILLAN.

GOMBINED DooR SPRING AND CHECK. No. 473,456. Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 6.

W. GILPILLAN.

GOMBINBD DOOR SPRING AND CHECK.

No. 473,456. Patented Apr. 26, 1892. .v

7 Sheets-Sheet 7.

(No Model.)

W. GILFILLAN.

c'oMBINED DooR SPRING AND CHECK.

Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

ma Naama Pirsns cc., mew-Uma., wAsmNGn-m, n4 c.

iJNrrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

YVILLIAM GILFILLAN, OF NEYV BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT.

COMBINED DOOR SPRING AND CHECK.

SPECIFICATI ON forming part of Letters Patent No. 473,456, dated April 26, 1892.

' Application filed January 9, 1892. Serial No. 417,518. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may conccrn: V

l-e it known that I, WILLIAM GILFILLAN, of New Britain, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Door Springs and Ohecks; and I do herebydeclare the-following' to beafull, clear', and exact description of the invention', such as will enable others skilled in the art to which iL appertains to make and use the same. i

The object of this invention is to provide a door-check of such construction thatit will gradually check the speed of the door in clos ing and when the door has nearly closed will release the door to the action of the Spring and thereby insure the latching of V the door.

A further object is to provide means for adjusting the latching` movement of the door by causing the release of the check at any desired point in its range of action. f

A further object is to balance the pressure on the rotary disk and thereby reduce the t'riction and wear of the parts to the mini-L mum.

A further object is to provide the arms of the check with self-adj ustable joints to insure' their perfect freedom to action.

A further object is to provide door-checks for use on the opposite sides of partition or swinging` doors.

A'further object is to improve the details of construction of liquid door-checks.

With these several ends in view my invention consists in the several features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accornpanying drawings, Figure l is a View in side elevation of my improved doorcheck, a portion of the casing being` cut away to show the inteiilor arrangement of parts. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through line man of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under side of the rotary disk. Figflt is a plan View of two door-checks attached to a swinging or partition door. Fig. 5 is a side view of`the same. Fig.6 is avertical section of the spindle and disk. Fig. 7 is aplan. view of a doorcheck attached to the door and to the doorjamb. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the jointed end of the link. Fig. 9 is a section taken through z of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the link and arm -at their joint. Fig. 1l is a side View of the hinged yoke used on swinging doors. Fig. 12 is a front view of the yoke. Fig. 13 is a rear view of the yoke. Fig. 14: is an edge View of the bracket to which the yoke is attached. Fig. 15 isaface view of the bracket. Fig'. 16 is a top view of the check with a portion of the casing cut away to show the relative arrangement of the arm and wing when the door is in position for latching. Fig, 17 is a detached View of the adjustable sections of the check-arm. Fig. 18 is a section of the Spring. Fig. 19 is a view in perspective of the thimble S. Fig. 20 is a crosssection of the sleeve enoircling the spindle. Fig. 21 is a view in perspective of the same. Fig. 22 is a viewin perspective of the plug. Fig. 23 is a view in vertical section of the door-check. Fig. 24 represents the door-check as ordinarily applieol to a door and its casing.

A represents the casing, which is cast in a single piece, its bottom being provided with an inverted-cup-shaped projection a, the circular wall of which constitutes theinner Wall of the annular liquid-chamber a', the (ia-sing` forming its outer wall. An annularledge O',

formed on the inside of the casing, constitutes a Seat for the packing-disk A', which latter is Constructed with a screw-threaded periphery which engages corresponding screw-threads on the inner wall of the casing located immediately above ledgre C'. Packing-disk A' is provided on its upper side with recesses (1.2

for the reception of a wrench to secure it in place. By sorewing disk A' tightly against the annular ledge C' any liquid that may flow past or through the openings in the rotary disk, which latter constitutes a top or cover for the liquid-chamber, will be prevented from flowing into the Spring-chamber. On the upper face of the packing-disk A' is formed a stuffingbox D, within which is placed any suitable packing cl, which is forced against the lower end of spindle O2 by the gland D2, and thus any leakage past the spindle to the Spring-Chamber is prevented. The rotary disk C is formed integral with or secured to the lower end of spindle 02, and, as

. has been stated, constitutes the top or cover of the liquid-chamber a'. To the lower face of the rotary disk is Secured a wing or blade E', the opposite edges of which engage Vor move* in close proximity to the inner and outer walls' of the annular liquid-chamber.

Bzis a reversible plug provided with a valve 133, which latter consists of a metal plate 192, which is placed over the through openings 193 in the plug and is attached to a guide-pin 194, which passes through the plug, whereby the valve is allowed a limited movement toward and away from its seat. The lower end of the plug is constructed with ashank 1J5,which extends downwardly through a boss 1), formed on the bottom of the casing. To the projecting end of the shank is fastened' a handle 1)7 for adjusting and reversing the plug. The upper end of the plug is beveled,as at c, and its side edges are grooved, as at c' 02, for a purpose hereinafter explained.

In the bottom of the annular liqnid-chamber and at each side of the reversible plug is located a stop-pin E,which serves to arrest the movement of the wingE' and preventit from comingin contact with the plug, thus guarding the latter against undue strains or breakage.

For the purpose of auto matically1 regulating the movement of the check I provide the lower` face of disk O' with a circular groove F, which has its greatest depth at a point opposite the wing E', from which point it gradually diminishes in depth toward its opposite ends, which latter merge or vanish into the plain flat spaces e e, located between the opposite ends of the groove and the enlarged ports G' connected with the holes G at either side of the wing E'. As the upper and beveled edge of the plug engages the under face of the rotary disk, the escape of liquid past the plug through the channel or groove F, formed in the rotary disk, will be regulated and controlled by the depth of the channel, which, as has been stated, constantly varies throughout. its length. The depth or crosssectional area of the channel is so varied that when the door commences to close the deepest portion of the channel islocated above the plug, and hence provides for the maXimum escape of liquid past it. Hence as the door commences to close it will have a quick movement imparted to it by the spring, due to the escape of theliquid-resisting medium through the deepest portion of the channei or groove F. As the doorcontinues to close,the escape of liquid is gradually checked, owing to the gradually-diminished depth of the circular groove, with the result that the movement of the door is gradually retarded and checked until its movement nearly ceases, and this point is reached when the door has nearly closed and when the reversible plug engages the plain fiat surface e between the end of the groove and the port G'. In Fig. 16 I illustrate .the position of the door at the point of greatvest retardation.

It will be observed that when the door is not yet latched and while in this position the ledge of the port G', which communicates with the hole G throughthe disk, is at the plug 132, and a little farther movement will bring the port G' over the plug and permit the liquid to fiow freely over the plug and to its opposite side. This action results in suddenly releasing the checking action of the liquid and permitting the spring to exert its full force to suddenly close the door. However, the door having nearly closed before the release of the checking action, it will close without slamming, though with sufficient force and certainty to insure its latching. The port G' is of sufficient length or area to allow the liquid to escape over the plug throughout the final closin g and latching of the door. The holes G G, formed through the rotary disk on opposite sides of the wing or blade, serve the purpose of permitting a portion of the liquid under pressure in'the liquid-chamber to flow through the disk and between its upper surface and the lower surface of the packing plate or disk A'. In the absence of any such openings the rotary disk would be forced upwardly against the packin g-disk by the upward pressure of the liquid, thereby cansing au undue amount of friction and wear between their engaging surfaces. By allowing a small portion of the liquid under pressure to flow above the rotary disk and exert its pressure against the fixed packing-disk and downwardly against the entire surface of the rotary disk thelatteris retained out of actual contact with the packing-ring and insured perfect freedom of action. By locat-ing the holes G in close proximity to the bladeor wingthis balancing action is insured throughout the entire range of movement of the rotary disk. For the purpose of simplicity in construction the lower ends of the' holes G are enlarged to form ports for the escape of the liquid past the plug to insure the release of the checking action and the positive latching of the door. However, it is obvious that as the fnnction of the ports and holes are separate and distinct they may be made separate in the disk. It being desirable to provide a plug of considerable thickness of metal to insure it the desired Strength and Stiffness and also to furnish comparatively wide bearings to its side edges I employ a comparatively thick plug, but bevel its top off, as at o, in order that the ports G' in passing over the thin upper edge of the plug may provide an escape for the liquid for a sufficient length of time to permit of the closing and latching of the door. The edges of plug are furnished with tapering grooves c' 02, so that by a slight rotary adj ustment of the plug the escape of the liquid past the plug may be delicately adjusted and regulated.

Spring 134 is provided with a retaining-barrel 03, to which is Secureda plate 04, which engages in a slot formed in the casing, so that the position of the spring maybe readily reversed, as fully set forth in my application, Serial No. 407,398. y

In my present invention I have improved .the method of connecting the spindle with IOO IIO

the inner end of the Spring, which I will now d escribe. Encircling the spindle 02 is a sleeve (24, which has a ratchet-Wheel es, formed integral with its upper end. The lower portion of t-he Sleeve is formed with flattened Sides R, which engage similarly-flattened Sides r, formed on the inside of the thimble S, whereby the latter may be rotated by the sleeve. On the periphery of the thimble is forined an inclined tooth T, which .engages in the hole U, formed in the inner end of the Spring. Then the sleeve and thimble are turned in one direction-that is, in a proper direction to wind up the Spring-the tooth on the thimbleV engages in the hole in the inner end of the Spring; butshould the sleeve be turned by mistake in the opposite direction the tooth on the thimhle is disengaged from the Spring and the latter is preserved against injury. The thimble is readilyremoved and replaced, so that it may be easily adjusted for use in a Spring arranged for use on a right or left hand door-check.

To secure the requisite adjustrnent of the parts, I form the link H in two sections, one of which is provided with a series of holes I and the other with a series of projections 1'. The link may be lengthened or Shortened by disengaging the project-ions on one Section from the holes in the other Section and, when ad justed to the desired length, fastenin g the two sections together by engaging the projections 011 one section in the holes in the other, and Securely fastening the two together by means of the screW-clamp J Another feature of my improvement relates to the joints in the link and its oil-receptacle. It is frequently the case that, owing to the warping of the door jamb or casing or to a Slight twisting of the parts of the door-check out of alignment in putting them up, the opening and closing of the door causes a twisting or lateral strain on the joints of the link. To provide for this, I drill a hole K through the arm l-I' and provide a counterbore K' on the opposite side. Into this hole I force a steel tube L, having a rounded exterior surface. A pin is inserted through the steel tube and is turned or oscillated, so as to Seat the tube securely in place. A pin K2 passes through the steel tube and the joined end of the arm and is riveted or otherwise Secured. The counter-bore channelK' serves as an oiling-chamber to retain the lubricant for the joint, while the play at the joint allows for a slight twisting movement, so that the check will operate perfectly well though arnl and link are not in perfect alignment.

WVhen it is desired to provide a door adapted to Swing in both directions with a check, it is necessary to secure a check on each side of the door; but since the Spring of one check Would act in opposition to the Spring of the other provision must be made for cutting out the Spring on one side when the door is swung in one direction and cutting out the other Spring when the door is swungin the opposite direction. I accomplish this in the following manner: On the inner edge of the door N, I secure a bracket M, each end of which has a projecting earM', to each of which one end of a Swinging yoke O is hinged, the opposlte end of the yokes being pivotally connected to the ends of the links H. Each yoke has pivoted within it a latch or dog P, one end of which is provided with a hook O', which is adapted to engage a corresponding hook M2 on the end of the bracket M'. The opposite end of the dog is engaged by an adjustable Screw P' on the arin H'. Then the door is Swung in one direction, the screw P' on one arm will be swung out of contact with its dog, thereby releasing it to the action of its Spring, which will cause it to engage the hook on the end of the ear M' and thereby firinly lock the dog thereto and practically make the yoke a rigid extension of the ear. Thus it will be observed that the force of the Spring in opening and closing the door is exerted through the link against the outer end of the yoke, as represented in Fig. 4. The screw P' on the opposite door-check not being swung away from its dog retains the latter out of engagement with the bracket M' on the opposite end of the bracket, so that the yoke swings on the bracket, the ears of which are in alignment with the pintles of the double hinges.

In Fig. 7 I have shown the door-check as applied to the door and the link Secured to the door-jamb, while in Fig. 24 the check is illustrated as applied to the upper edge of the door and the link Secured to the door-casing.

As it is evident that my invention is Susceptible of many forms of einbodiment I would have it understood that I do not restrict myself to the particular construction and arrangement of parts shown and described; but,

Having fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to Secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a door-check, the combination, with a reeeptacle for the checking medium and a Wing or piston arranged tol move within said receptacle, of a passage or groove for the escape of the checking medium, so Constructed and arranged thatit is gradually restrictedin area as the door is closed and thereby serves to check the door in closing until it has nea-ri y reached its closed position, and a port arranged to suddenly release the checking medium and thereby release the door to the action of the Spring and thus insure the latching of the door, substantially as set forth.

2. In a door-check, a rotary disk provided with-an Opening for the passage of liquid to counterbalance the pressure on the disk, subst-antially as set forth.

3. In a door-check, the combination, with a liquid-chamber and a plug located therein, of a rotary disk provided with a wing movable IOO IIO

in said chamber, said disk having releasingports on opposite ends of its Wing, substantially as set forth.

Lt. In a floor-check, the combination, With a liquid-charnber and a plug,` located therein, of a rotary disk provided with a wing' orblade inovable in said chamber and having a counterbalancing-hole on each side of the wing, which extends through the rotary disk, substantiall y as set forth.

5. The co1nbination,`with a door adapted to swing in both directions, of a door-check attached to each side of the door and means for automatically cntting either one of the door-checks ont of Operation when the door is opened to the right or the left, snbstantially as set forth.

6. The combination, With a bracket and a yoke, of a door-check and means for antomatically looking the yoke to the bracket and for disengaging it therefrom, snbstantially as set forth.

7. In a' door-check, a link made'in sections, one portion having;` a "series of projections which engage a correspondng series of holes in the other section, and a clamp for securinr the sections together, substantially as set forth.

8. In a door-check, the combination, With a liquid-chamber and a rotary disk provided With a Wing or blade niovable in said c'hamber, of a tapered groove formed in the face of the rotary disk, the ends of the groove terminating on opposite si'des of the Wing, and reltr/3,456

leasing-ports located between the Wing and the ends of said groove, snbstanti'ally as set forth.

9. In a door-check, the combination, with a link having,` a counterbore formed in one end thereof, of a pin extending through said connterbore and forming an oil-Chamber between the pin and walls of the counterbore, substantially as set forth.

10. In a door-check, the combination, With a coiled spring, of a thmble provided With an inclined tooth adapted to engage in a hole in the inner end of the Spring when the thimble is tnrned in one direction and to be disengaged therefrom When turned in an opposite direction, and a sleeve on the spindle constructed to engage the thimble, snbstantially as set forth.

11. The combination, With a bracket, a yoke pivoted to each end of the bracket and Springactuated dogs for looking lthe yokes to the bracket, so as to be rigid tnerewith,of a doorcheck connected with each one of the yokes, and means for antomaticallv disengaging the degs from the bracket, snbstantially as set forth.

In testimony Whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two Subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM GILFILLAN. 

